Film / Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

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Those magnificent men in their flying machines, They go up diddley up-up, they go down diddley down-down!

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes, to give its full title, is a 1965 British film farce (released through 20th Century Fox) about an international air race held during the early, pre-World War I days of aviation. A wacky cast of characters assembles with their wacky aircraft, a love triangle develops, Worthy Opponents square off, and great fun is had by all... except for those who can't stay in the air.

The brilliant international cast includes Stuart Whitman, Sarah Miles, James Fox, Alberto Sordi, Robert Morley, Gert Fröbe, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Yûjirô Ishihara, John Le Mesurier, Benny Hill, and Terry-Thomas as Sir Percy Ware-Armitage. Extra footage added for the American release featured popular comedian Red Skelton as a hapless victim of flight tests throughout the ages.

The 1969 sequel, Monte Carlo or Bust (aka Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies), does with vintage cars what this movie does with vintage planes.

Contains examples of:

All Stereotype Cast: The Germans are uptight efficiency freaks, the French are more interested in flirting and having fun than working, the Italians are devout Catholics and have a bunch of kids, the American is a cowboy, the British are stuffy and formal, and so forth.

Ambiguously Gay: Richard. He's oddly hesitant to marry Patricia despite her being attractive, intelligent, upper class, and interested in him. He also notes how handsome Orvil is before Patricia...while talking to Patricia. He doesn't mind her getting with Orvil at the end in the slightest.

Artistic License – Awards: Captain Rumpelstoss is shown wearing the Iron Cross, Germany's most iconic military decoration. However, he's too young to have served in the Franco-Prussian War, the last time it was awarded prior to World War I.

Berserk Button: Do not take Patricia flying and let her father hear about it. Orvil was lucky to not be DQ'd on her account.

Bookends: The American release features footage of Red Skelton at both ends of the films. The first set of clips features him in a series of "historic" flight tests, such as a caveman flapping his elbows like a bird. At the end of the film, a modern Red Skelton is stuck in the airport, waiting for scheduling troubles to get sorted out, when he suddenly hits upon an idea... and begins flapping his elbows like a bird.

But I Read a Book About It: Colonel Manfred von Holstein attempts to teach himself how to fly by reading the official German army handbook on piloting; while he is flying. He does surprisingly well until he drops the book.

Brick Joke: During the Germans' test flight (the one that goes horribly wrong) the fire engine knocks out a section of wall between the field and the sewage farm. At the end of the scene when the German officer has lost control of the motorbike, he ends up going through that section of wall.

Cool Plane: Well, in the era of the setting, any plane that can stay aloft for more than five minutes is essentially cool by default. But the amusing early flying machines are certainly a focal point of the film. And some, like Richard's Antoinette IV, are downright beautiful.

Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: Orvil was winning the race in the final stretch, but when he saw the Italian pilot in 3rd place was about to crash, he veered off to rescue the other pilot. This gave the race to Richard, but since he had seen Orvil leave the race to save the Italian, he freely decides to split the prize money with him.

Duel to the Death: Two characters try to have one in balloons. (Ahem: "Balloons... AND BLUNDERBUSSES!")

Colonel von Holstein wins the balloon duel, shooting down his opponents' balloon, but he gloats a little too much after doing so, and punctures his own balloon with his helmet, causing it to crash. (And makes a fool out of himself.)

The French and German pilots... in gas balloons and with blunderbusses.

Let's Get Dangerous!: The nuns are initially apathetic to the Count's airplane problems... until the Count pines that the race will be won by a Protestant because of his situation, at which point the nuns decide to help him get back in the air anyway.

Midair Repair: Orville takes Patricia up in his flying machine, and even lets her control it. But one of the interplane struts between the wings breaks, so he walks out on the wing and fixes it by wrapping his belt around it, losing his pants in the process. All turns out well.

Mockumentary: The film opens with a narrator describing Man's age-old quest for flight with relevant clips, some real, some not. It's amazing we ever succeeded...

Some of the silent footage was lifted wholesale from a 1920s compilation short.

National Stereotypes: Most of the participants of the race are humorous caricatures of their nationality. There's the lustful Frenchman, the strict, pointy-hattedPrussian soldier, the cocksure American cowboy, the boisterous Italian bringing his whole family with him, etc. Though it is a British film, British Stuffiness is certainly there, too.

One YouTube review points out that some of the offensiveness is mitigated by the fact that all of the actors are the nationalities of the characters they're playing and are clearly having a ball playing up their roles to the hilt. Maybe it's because absolutely nobody gets off scot-free; everyone is painted in a stereotypical way.

In fact, it wouldn't be difficult to say that the British get the brunt of the negative stereotypes, even hosting the film's main villain.

It is somewhat subverted in the case of the Japanese pilot in that he fails to conform to 1910-era expectations, not only by speaking flawless English and having a taste for Scotch whisky, but also in the scene when his plane crashes on take-off. When he asks for a knife it is not, as the fireman fears, to commit Harakiri, but to free himself from entangling wires. Interestingly, he does fit more modern stereotypes by being perhaps the single most intelligent and polite character in the film.

Overprotective Dad: Patricia's father absolutely forbids his daughter from riding in a plane, getting angry at anyone who even suggests it. (Don't forget the how primitive - and dangerous - they were at this time; it's hard to blame him.)

Roll in the Hay: A French pilot makes an emergency landing near a haystack in France. While a farmer is going to get help, which will cost him 30 minutes to get to the nearest farm, the pilot uses this as an ideal opportunity to make love to the Farmer's Daughter in the hay.

Running Gag: The French pilot chats up a series of beauties whom he keeps confusing the names of, so that they have to introduce themselves as being of different nationalities and names. The suggestion is that all beautiful women look alike to him. The joke is that they're all played by the same actress!

Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Sir Percy Ware-Armitage's attitude. (Orvil on the other hand clearly thinks he deserves special consideration because unlike the other participants he is poor.)

Shown Their Work: All the race planes in the film are fairly faithful reproductions of actual early aircraft, with some modern updates to ensure safety.

Spiritual Successor: Monte Carlo or Bust averts this by the skin of its teeth. It's another race movie with vintage vehicles, made by the same production team and featuring several returning cast members, but its only in-universe link to Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines is that Terry Thomas appears as the son of his character from the earlier film.

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